Communications: Password Policy

Date approved:

April 2013

Approved by:

Date to be reviewed:

May 2014

Reviewed by:

AVP for Information Technology Services

Date revised:

Revision number:

1.1

Compliance Committee:

As Scheduled

1.0 OVERVIEW

Passwords are an important aspect of computer security. They are the front line of protection for user accounts. A poorly chosen password may result in the compromise of Wheeling Jesuit University's entire university network. As such, all Wheeling Jesuit University employees (including contractors and vendors with access to Wheeling Jesuit University systems) and students are responsible for taking the appropriate steps, as outlined below, to select and secure their passwords.

2.0 PURPOSE

The purpose of this policy is to establish a standard for creation of strong passwords, the protection of those passwords, and the frequency of change.

3.0 SCOPE

The scope of this policy includes all personnel who have or are responsible for an account (or any form of access that supports or requires a password) on any system that resides at any Wheeling Jesuit University facility, has access to the Wheeling Jesuit University network, or stores any non-public Wheeling Jesuit University information.

All production system-level passwords must be part of the ITS administered global password management database.

All user-level passwords (e.g., email, web, desktop computer, etc.) must be changed at least every semester.

User accounts that have system-level privileges granted through group memberships or programs such as "sudo" must have a unique password from all other accounts held by that user.

Passwords must not be inserted into email messages or other forms of electronic communication.

Where SNMP is used, the community strings must be defined as something other than the standard defaults of "public," "private" and "system" and must be different from the passwords used to log in interactively. A keyed hash must be used where available (e.g., SNMPv2).

All user-level and system-level passwords must conform to the guidelines described below.

4.2 Guidelines

General Password Construction Guidelines
Passwords are used for various purposes at Wheeling Jesuit University. Some of the more common uses include: user level accounts, web accounts, email accounts, screen saver protection, voicemail password, and local router logins. Since very few systems have support for one-time tokens (i.e., dynamic passwords which are only used once), everyone should be aware of how to select strong passwords.

The words "Wheeling Jesuit University", "WJU", "Cardinal" or any derivation.

Birthdays and other personal information such as addresses and phone numbers.

Word or number patterns like aaabbb, qwerty, zyxwvuts, 123321, etc.

Any of the above spelled backwards.

Any of the above preceded or followed by a digit (e.g., secret1, 1secret)

Strong passwords have the following characteristics:

Contain both upper and lower case characters (e.g., a-z, A-Z)

Have digits and punctuation characters as well as letters e.g., 0-9, !@#$%^&*()_+|~-=\`{}[]:";'<>?,./)

Are at least ten alphanumeric characters long and is a passphrase (Ohmy1stubbedmyt0e).

Are not a word in any language, slang, dialect, jargon, etc.

Are not based on personal information, names of family, etc.

Passwords should never be written down or stored on-line. Try to create passwords that can be easily remembered. One way to do this is create a password based on a song title, affirmation, or other phrase. For example, the phrase might be: "This May Be One Way To Remember" and the password could be: "TmB1w2R!" or "Tmb1W>r~" or some other variation.

NOTE: Do not use either of these examples as passwords!

Password Protection Standards
Do not use the same password for Wheeling Jesuit University accounts as for other non-Wheeling Jesuit University access (e.g., personal ISP account, option trading, benefits, etc.). Where possible, don't use the same password for various Wheeling Jesuit University access needs. For example, select one password for the e-mail system and a separate password for the Datatel or Blackboard systems. Also, select a separate password to be used for a Windows Server account and a UNIX account.

Do not share Wheeling Jesuit University passwords with anyone, including administrative assistants, technicians, or students. All passwords are to be treated as sensitive, Confidential Wheeling Jesuit University information. Two or more individuals should not share an account – individual logins are required.

Here is a list of "dont's":

Don't reveal a password over the phone to ANYONE

Don't reveal a password in an email message

Don't reveal a password to a supervisor

Don't talk about a password in front of others

Don't hint at the format of a password (e.g., "my family name")

Don't reveal a password on questionnaires or security forms

Don't share a password with family members

Don't reveal a password to co-workers while on vacation

If someone demands a password, refer them to this document or have them call someone in the ITS Department.

Do not use the "Remember Password" feature of applications (e.g., Eudora, OutLook, Netscape Messenger).

Again, do not write passwords down and store them anywhere in your office. Do not store passwords in a file on ANY computer system (including Palm Pilots or similar devices) without encryption.

Change passwords at least once every semester. The recommended change interval is every four months.

If an account or password is suspected to have been compromised, report the incident to ITS immediately and change ALL passwords.

Password cracking or guessing may be performed on a periodic or random basis by ITS or its delegates. If a password is guessed or cracked during one of these scans, the user will be required to change it.

Application Development Standards
Application developers must ensure their programs contain the following security precautions.

Applications:

should support authentication of individual users, not groups.

should not store passwords in clear text or in any easily reversible form.

should provide for some sort of role management, such that one user can take over the functions of another without having to know the other's password.

Use of Passwords and Passphrases for Remote Access Users
Access to the Wheeling Jesuit University Networks via remote access (VPN) is to be controlled using strong password authentication or a public/private key system with a strong passphrase.

Passphrases
Passphrases are generally used for public/private key authentication. A public/private key system defines a mathematical relationship between the public key that is known by all, and the private key, that is known only to the user. Without the passphrase to "unlock" the private key, the user cannot gain access.

Passphrases are not the same as passwords. A passphrase is a longer version of a password and is, therefore, more secure. A passphrase is typically composed of multiple words. Because of this, a passphrase is more secure against "dictionary attacks."

A good passphrase is relatively long and contains a combination of upper and lowercase letters and numeric and punctuation characters. An example of a good passphrase:

"The*?#>*@TrafficOnThe101Was*&#!#ThisMorning"

All of the rules above that apply to passwords apply to passphrases.

5.0 ENFORCEMENT

Any employee found to have violated this policy may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.

6.0 DEFINITIONS

Application Administration Account - Any account that is for the administration of an application (e.g., Oracle database administrator, ISSU administrator).

7.0 AUTHORIZATION

The VP for Information Technology, in conjunction with the Director of Human Resources, has the authority to approve changes or exceptions to this policy at any time with or without notice, provided such changes are in compliance with other policy guidelines.